Private donations assist families of Iraq servicemen
I was reading today about The Fallen Patriot Fund, a project of Mark Cuban's foundation. The object of the fund is to raise and distribute moneys to the families of servicemen killed or seriously wounded in Iraq. As I read the front page story, I became impassioned about it and thought about how much money I could send to these fa--Wait a minute. Why the fuck do we need private donations to care for the families of servicemen killed in action? How can it be argued that this is not the responsibility of our government? I feel as repulsed by this as every time I'm called up to donate to some fund for police or fire--if you put your life on the line to protect others on orders from the government, that government has the duty to stand by your family and care for them if you cannot. It doesn't have to be fancy; losing a husband or a father or a wife or a mother does not excuse the rest of the family from their own responsibility in caring for themselves, but the government needs to step up and provide the best opportunity for that family to do so.We, as citizens of this democracy, cannot be negligent and allow this role to be filled only through private donations, through whatever means may (or may not) be available in a time of need. Whether fire-fighter, police officer, soldier or other public servant who endangers their life at our request, their family should be cared for by all of us, not only the willing donations.
posted by Lachlan @ 2:15 AM
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